Recent acquisitions could delay Facebook IPO until June

Recent acquisitions on the part of Facebook may ultimately delay the social network’s planned initial public offering until June. Sources say that the company had hoped to go public on May 17 but some last-minute acquisitions and purchases look to derail those plans.

The Telegraph reports that Facebook will be forced to make additional financial disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the recent deals. Facebook could still meet the May deadline but doing so would coincide with the Memorial Day holiday on May 28. It would be in their best interest to wait another week for a non-holiday offering to ensure maximum liquidity.

Just a few days ago, Facebook purchased a large number of patents from Microsoft to the tune of $550 million. Zuckerberg and company acquired the patents to further pad their IP portfolio ahead of the public offering.

Earlier this month the company acquired Instagram in a deal valued at $1 billion in cash and stock. The photo sharing app is one of the fastest growing in the mobile sector, amassing some 30 million iOS users in only 18 months. With the recent release of the Android app, Instagram is signing up over 2,000 new members every minute.

Analysts are speculating that Facebook could be valued at up to $104 billion when they finally do go public, whenever that may be. This would price shares around $40 each and could raise around $10 billion or so for the social network.